To impeach or to not impeach
Alejandro Mayorkas is the Homeland Security Secretary, and Republicans are preparing to vote to impeach him. Why?
Immigration and border security has become one of the top issues for 2024, and it seems that Mayorkas has been unable to secure the border. Republicans have called out his “willful and systematic” refusal to enforce immigration laws.
“The action and decision of Secretary Mayorkas have left us with no other option but to proceed with articles of impeachment,” commented Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn.
So what?
But what’s the big deal? Why are lawmakers and so many other Americans worried about immigration, specifically when it comes to the border?
In 2023, the border town of Eagle Pass announced a state of emergency after about 6,000 migrants crossed the Rio Grande River from Mexico in only two days. In 2022, Border Patrol saw a whopping 2.2 million people crossing the border illegally. These numbers are giving citizens and lawmakers pause as the number of individuals entering the country presents not just a security issue but a financial one.
In the early 90s and 2000s, most illegal immigrants were single adults. However, the influx of immigration in recent years shows that it isn’t just single adults but families. Children traveling alone are also coming into the US in higher numbers. The financial toll is impacting both federal and local budgets.
The impeachment of Mayorkas would be a historic move as he would be the first Cabinet member to receive that sentence in nearly 150 years.
Mayorkas was also cited to have “put his political preference above the law,” according to Chairman Mark Green.
His “actions have forced our hand” because “we cannot allow this border crisis to continue. We cannot allow fentanyl to flood our border,” he said at the start of the hearing.
House Republicans are set to vote this Tuesday
